Andrew Flintoff: I was forced to quit cricket

Andrew Flintoff last night spoke of his heartbreak after being forced to retire from ­cricket by the persistent knee injury which has dogged him for the past 18 months.

Farewell: 33-year-old Andrew Flintoff has retired from the game for good

The all-rounder had a knee operation last ­August, 24 hours after what proved to be his final day of cricket, when he helped England regain the Ashes at the Brit Oval.

Flintoff had already announced his Test match retirement then but remained optimistic he could battle back to play limited-overs cricket.Further surgery in January ­dashed hopes of a spring comeback and last month he had to pull out of a return for Lancashire’s second team.And a make-or-break meeting with his surgeon this week forced Flintoff, 32, to ­accept his career is over.

He said: ‘I’m not quite sure it’s sunk in. I think it’s going to take a while. It’s one of those things where the decision has been made for me.

‘It’s going to be difficult, as it’s something I’ve been doing professionally for nearly 17 years. Since I was a kid all I’ve wanted to do was play cricket. I am in a fortunate position where I have been offered to do other things, but I really did think I’d have another two or three years playing at Lancashire especially, but it’s just not to be.’

Flintoff, speaking to Sky Sports, admitted his career highlight was the 2005 Ashes win, saying: ‘I think it’s hard to pick one [memory]. Probably the best I played was under Michael Vaughan when he took over [as England captain].

‘We had a three-year patch where we beat ­everyone in the world including Australia and I was probably a major part of the team.’